Response to Lance Armstrong indicating that he wants to become a Trail Runner

Armstrong’s win at the Woodside Ramble 35K has set off debate over whether he should be allowed to compete in trail races. Photo by Jesse Ellis / Let’s Wander Photography

Those that know me, know that I am ANTI-DOPING and ANTI-DOPERS.

When Floyd Landis was announced as coming to NZ to ride in the Tour of Southland (TOS). I was like ‘No way’, ‘That’s wrong’, ‘WTF’, even though he had done his time. But over the week of the race, I was able to observe the positive role modelling he gave to his team members (he was leading a composite team of young Kiwi riders). He taught them the tactics of riding big multi-day tours and gave them a schooling they could only have got from riding ‘under the wing’ of a rider who has ridden at the level he has ridden at, which is not often available here in NZ. He also ‘sucked up’ and absorbed a LOT of banter and flack from a lot of riders and people involved in the TOS (not the organisers). He has obviously developed a very thick skin, which also showed his team mates a level of professionalism that many would not be able to display.

What is the difference between Lance & Floyd?

Floyd Landis

Floyd wasn’t given a life-time ban, that is one difference.

Floyd didn’t try and intimidate and dominate support personnel (mechanics, masseuses etc…) who tried to blow the whistle on his doping.

Floyd didn’t make the life of people who spoke out against him living hell.

At the awards function for the TOS I found myself standing alongside him and had a brief discussion, where I told him my opinion of drug cheats and thanked him for what he did for the young Kiwi cyclists. I am hopeful that his Performance Enhancing Drug (PED) days were long in his past (he certainly isn’t riding at the level he did whilst using them) and in the week he had with the young Kiwi cyclists that he only exposed them to the negative side of PED use. I had no involvement with the team he was riding for so I have no knowledge of what he did out of the spot light to confirm this, so I cross my fingers.

Lance’s attitude and approach is not good for sport. If he had said ‘Yeah I used them’ then done the ‘time’ for his crime and got on with his life without the associated ‘drama’ (like a number of other convicted PED users have done in a range of sports) he possibly would have avoided the life-time ban. If he had initially worked with the investigators he possibly would have avoided the life-time ban. But he didn’t do either of these things and he got a life-time ban from sport (which I believe he deserves).

He hasn’t done anything positive since ‘coming clean’. A more apt term might be ‘coming out’ but that would be insulting to compare and associate Lance with the GLBT community. They actually have pride in who they are Lance on the other hand only has arrogance).

Keep him well away from trail running and any other sport that has any credibility.

I am proud to stand behind this opinion piece and have this represent Qwik Kiwi. Nothing can be more annoying where an opinion piece is followed by a disclaimer that it doesn’t represent the business that the author is associated with. – Ray Boardman.

Ray has competed in triathlons from sprint to ironman distance (both IM Taupo and Challenge Wanaka). Consequently he is aware of the importance of balancing training with lifestyle, thus complimenting other important aspects of an athlete’s life (family, work, study commitments etc…).
• Entering your first triathlon?
• Stepping up to a longer distance?
• Looking to go faster?
• Wanting to turn previous negatives into positives?
Ray has coached athletes to achieve these and more. Training programmes are accessible online, so athletes can be located anywhere and still reap the benefits of Ray’s coaching. Contact him to discuss how he can assist you to achieve your goals.

1 week agoYesterday our tour group of 15 were dropped at the start of the section of Wall which is part of the course for the half marathon on Saturday. 3.3km later we arrived back at what will be the start & finish line area. Climbing up & down steps is a challenge as I train on the flat! It took me a while to get "warmed up". The smog was quite evident. Not all the wall is steps. Some parts were slippery. It is amazing to think how old the Wall is and how it was built. It took me 2

Training Plan of the Month – May 2019

As you follow the programme you will find yourself swimming your 1,500m faster. Now whether that is a PB or not will depend on how fast you have swum in the past, but it will definitely be faster at the end of the 4 weeks than it is now. With this programme people improve on average nearly 2 minutes, with some people improving by over 10%.

Designed for triathletes who have limited time to train but can squeeze two short 2km sessions in each week. The primary goal of this training plan is to prepare you to swim 1,500m faster than you did at the start of the programme.